Darvin Ham Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images

Albuquerque, N.M., April 4, 2008 – The Albuquerque Thunderbirds acquired 6-11, center Anthony Fuqua in a trade with the Austin Toros. The trade sends forward and first round pick of the 2007 D-League Draft, forward Darvin Ham to the Austin Toros.

Fuqua has spent time in the NBA summer league with the New York Knicks. A graduate of the University of Texas – San Antonio, Fuqua played in 39 games with the Toros this season, averaging 3.1 points per game and 3.0 rebounds.

“In Anthony Fuqua we are getting a long, tall, athletic player that can rebound and run the floor,” Albuquerque Head Coach Jeff Ruland said. “His energy and abilities will help us finish off the season the season strong.”

Ham, who was selected in the first round as the first pick by Albuquerque in the 2007 D-League Draft was averaging 10.1 points in 43 games, heads to Austin.

“Darvin Ham is family man, and the opportunity for him to be closer to his home and family came up, so we helped him by making the trade,” Ruland said. “He was a leader on the team and will be missed the remainder of the season. Austin is in a great position to make the playoffs and will benefit immensely from having a leader like Darvin on the floor for them.”

Fuqua is expected to be in uniform Saturday night, wearing jersey number 41, when Albuquerque takes on the Tulsa 66ers; 7:00pm at Expo Square Pavilion, in Tulsa.

Albuquerque plays its last regular season home game, April 12th against the Colorado 14ers. Game time is set for 7:00 pm, from Tingley Coliseum. Saturday’s game will be “Fan Appreciation Night”, in which the first 1,000 fans will receive a giveaway item. Also, prior to Saturday’s game will include Native American All Star Game presented by Acoma Business Enterprise, tickets will be available for purchase prior to the game.

Thunderbirds 2008–09 season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Thunderbirds front office at 111 Lomas Blvd. NE, Suite 240, Albuquerque, NM 87102. For single game tickets and premium or group seating call the Thunderbirds office at (505) 265-DUNK.

The Thunderbirds stay focused on the community by participating in community events such as the Read to Achieve Program as well as D-League Cares. In the past two seasons the Thunderbirds have worked over 3,000 hours in the community, staying dedicated to Albuquerque and New Mexico.

The NBA Development League is the NBA's official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams. Now in its seventh season the D-League’s goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 16 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA. As the single source for in-season player "call-ups" to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. In fact, former D-League players represented 10 percent of NBA players on 2007-08 opening day rosters, numbering 44 in total. In addition, the D-League has produced 25 percent of current NBA referees and 17 current NBA coaches, including head coach Sam Vincent with the Charlotte Bobcats. The D-League is an innovative and rapidly growing sports property that also serves as an experimental testing ground for new initiatives like NBA Futurecast, which is the live web-streaming of all games available free to fans at d-league.com. The League also provides continuing education and professional development resources for its players, and is committed to serving its local communities through D-LEAGUE CARES and grassroots efforts.

Individually, the Thunderbirds have had two player call-ups, two front office call-ups, two training staff call-ups and three call-ups from the Storm Chasers Dance and Cheer squad.

Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the D-League offers NBA-quality basketball and fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. For additional information on the NBA Development League, visit NBADLEAGUE.com.